Written by

Mamie Nash

The Tennessean

The battle between Garth Brooks and a former employee over $226,000 he provided to her almost 10 years ago continued in U.S. District Court on Wednesday with testimony from the woman.

Lisa Sanderson, former CEO of Red Strokes Entertainment Inc., Brooks’ movie and television production company in California, alternated between violent sobs and smiles as she detailed her close personal friendship with the country music singer and insisted that the $226,000 was a gift from the heart, not a loan.

The money, paid by Brooks through his company to Sanderson’s lawyers, was used for Sanderson’s two-year child custody dispute. Brooks testified Tuesday that the money was a loan and that he also is owed interest, attorney’s fees and cost of collection.

He further testified before U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger that he had gone into great detail with Sanderson about a repayment plan multiple times.

While insisting that the money was a gift, Sanderson also is demanding a pension after the company closed in 2010. She said Brooks promised her the pension.

A different story

Sanderson’s former secretary, Anka Brazell, took the stand Wednesday and told a different story.

“When I interviewed with Lisa Sanderson she told me there wasn’t any such thing (as a pension),” Brazell said.

She also testified that Sanderson had told her that she had hired a lawyer to sue Brooks in California to “get us big, fat pensions out of this.”

In describing the custody battle over her son, Sanderson said, “It could have been very dangerous for my son. He wasn’t even a year old. (Brooks) was very, very worried. He said, ‘I’m gonna pay your legal fees.’ He said he knew I would have done it for him.”

Then she started crying again.

“You don’t forget this,” she said. “It was incredibly generous.” She added that Brooks never asked for repayment of the money.

The secretary also testified about another issue in the case. She was included in a conference call with Sanderson and Brooks while they were discussing personal charges, which included $10,000 in jewelry, that Sanderson had made on the company credit card.

“She started crying, and said, ‘What about the other?’ ” Brazell said, explaining that Sanderson was talking about the $226,000 in lawyer fees. “He (Brooks) told her not to worry about that at that time. After we got off the phone she came up behind me and said, ‘You heard him. He said it was a gift.’

“But he never said that,” Brazell said.

Cheryl Harris, Brooks’ accountant and business manager, made the same claim in testimony Wednesday.

“The loan was to be paid when she could,” Harris said. “She was still struggling to pay the $100 a month for the credit card debt. Mr. Brooks didn’t simply forgive the loan because that would have made the IRS consider that $226,000 loan an income, and they would have taxed it heavily.”